3pm in the afternoon and we were in the pool cooling down after gardening in the morning and the question came up . . . what shall we do for dinner tonight. We refilled our wine (plastic) glasses for inspiration and it hit me; I’m going to make Verde y Black Enchiladas! This in honor of our local football/soccer team (Austin FC) that were playing later that evening and what we had available in our kitchen.
The verde sauce.
I prepared a selection of items to roast. This included quartered onion, jalapeño, hatch, and poblano peppers, halved tomatillos, a couple of cloves of garlic, and a handful of cherry tomatoes (I left these whole in order to maintain the liquid). I did a light spray of olive oil and sprinkle of salt then put them into roast at ~450F. I let these roast until they just started to slightly brown. I let them cool and then put everything in the blender to the preferred level of smoothness.
Note: The selection and mix of peppers and vegetables is up to what taste & spice level you are trying to achieve. Or based on what you have available - it’s currently hatch pepper season here in Austin and I would have used more hatch if I had them available but I used what I had.). Similarly the level of roasting can go from light to heavy (but don’t burn them) - I even heard of some people slightly boiling the peppers and vegetable but I fear that would take away from the richness.
The fillings
We had two portabello mushrooms left in the fridge from a previous meal that I sliced, seasoned with taco seasoning, and lightly grilled. I rinsed and drained a can of black beans then liberally seasoned with cayenne, garlic, cumin, salt & pepper. Finally I sliced some Oaxaca cheese into strips.
The process
I transferred the verde sauce to a large pot and warmed it up slightly. Then, working one at a time, I took a tortilla (we used a corn & flour mix), dipped it in a sauce, put it in baking plan, filled it with a share of the three different fillings (beans, mushrooms, and cheese), and rolled up the tortilla. Repeated with the remaining tortillas and then sprinkled the remaining ingredients on top. I baked the dish for ~30-40 minutes at 350F until they looked ready.
The enchiladas were winners . . . Austin FC . . . well, maybe the next game.
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